Forever Fades
by Pin Needle
Summary: Naruto once had a father. Was this how he had lost him? [Maybe slight AU][Spoilers from 367][Told from the POV of Naruto's mother]


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Warnings: Spoilers from chapter 367 (so don't read if you don't want to be spoiled!) and I have lots of cookies should you finish this.

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Forever Fades 

It had been a long day and Kushina Uzumaki was exhausted.

She sat down at the edge of her bed, her fingers twiddling with her long red hair; a habit she had become accustomed to since childhood. Biting her lip, she scanned the window gazing out onto a truly glorious sunset.

Kushina didn't understand all of what had happened the night before. All the chaos that had been associated with the Kyubbi attack; the villagers screaming and rushing away from the beast's terror, children crying, buildings literally being ushered away with one swipe of the tail, meant nothing to her at the moment. All her mind was focused on was hearing the reason why her husband was still missing.

No one, not one single person, had been able to find Minato Namikaze in the last twenty-four hours. This had left Kushina in a state of shock, causing her to pace her room steadily with frequent glances toward her bedroom door. What was more, she also was not aware of status of her baby son, Naruto.

The last she had seen of the two of them was, ironically enough, when Minato had come to see her. He had explained about the situation going on with the Kyuubi attack very briefly and requested that he take Naruto with him. Kushina had been very reluctant to give up her son when such an attack was being commenced, but her husband had been able to convince her otherwise.

"_Kushina…I need our son so that we can protect this village…" He had whispered to her._

"_It's not that I don't want too…" She had replied, standing up and cradling her baby closer to her bosom, "I just don't want him to be killed…"_

"_Do you not trust me with our own son?" Minato had followed her to the window, gripping her shoulders lightly. "Please…If I am able to seal the Kyuubi within him, surely that will stop the beast from causing any more harm…"_

_She had turned around, her eyes wide. "Why…" Her voice shook, "Why are you asking me to burden our son with such a task? Why not someone else?"_

_Minato had sighed, "Kushina, it's my…our duty to protect this village as the Hokage. I can't just ask someone else to give me their child."_

"_Convince me otherwise." She had shot at him, glowering into his eyes._

"_This won't be a burden for him, he will be a hero. In a way, Naruto will be the true savior of our village."_

_Kushina had looked back out of the window at this point. She had watched, as the Kyuubi grew ever closer to the Village hidden in the Leaves. She had truly understood that Minato was right; she just didn't want to see Naruto suffer, that was all. _

_Kushina had rolled the baby into Minato's arms, giving him a fleeting kiss on the forehead and for her husband, on the lips. "I am going to fight, too."_

"_I know…" He had smiled at her, "Watch yourself, darling."_

_She had thought for a single moment their had been a glint of guilt and sorrow in his eyes as Minato had left the room…_

Kushina began to pace the room, her arms crossed. What was going on?!

Then, quite suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Kushina's head snap in its direction. She tried to decent herself quickly, coughed and shouting, "Come in!"

Two people, who she was not all together surprise to see, entered the room at her command. It was the pervious Hokage, Sarutobi, and Jiraiya, Minato's former mentor. They both looked solemn and weary, as if had aged a centaury. Kushina looked at them, her eyes full of concern. "Are you two all right?" She asked frantically.

They were silent for a moment, before both gave some sort of dignified 'yes'.

"Then what about my son, and Minato? Where on earth has he been?"

The visitors suddenly looked surprised and exchanged fleeting looks. Then horror was visible in their eyes. Jiraiya gazed back at Kushina, gently before asking, "Did Minato not tell you what he was planning to do?"

"Yes, he did. Otherwise I would still have my son with me." She replied, becoming irritated with the lack of information, "But where are they?! I have been worried sick!"

Jiraiya was about to answer when Sarutobi interrupted, "Naruto-kun, as of this moment, if currently being checked by our healers. We want to make sure he is still healthy and strong. Why were you not aware of this?"

Kushina sighed with relief, "I would have been, but the ANBU asked me to stay here until they thought everything was safe again. I haven't spoken to anyone since I got back last night." She sat down on the nearest chair, "Now, what about Minato? I need to know to that I can punish him for not coming sooner."

They were silent for so long that Kushina had thought they might have taken her threat seriously. But then she saw it. Jiraiya's hand was covering his eyes, as if to hold back his remorse. Sarutobi's head bowed, wiping a tear that had rippled down his cheek.

"D-don't…" Kushina voice trembled, "Don't tell me…that's he's…" The looks on their faces finished the sentence for her.

The whole world had stopped. Nothing was real and nothing truly mattered.

The kindly gestures she was given by Jiraiya, Sarutobi, and the rest of the village meant nothing to her. She felt numb, clod, distant from the world she had inhabited for so long. She felt no shock, anger, or even sadness but a cruel sense of denial washed over her, and she still kept asking herself, _"Where is he? Where is my Minato?"_

Kushina kept to the hospital over the next few days, watching her baby as he lay in a protective glass box. She volunteered to feed him herself and comfort him whenever he cried. He cried a lot, and Kushina didn't think it was because he was hungry. One of the medicalists explained that it might be the influence of the Kyuubi that her son was now acting up so frequently.

_My poor son_, Kushina thought, holding a crying Naruto in her arms. _What pain you must be going through…I would hate to add other._

Kushina's denial pressured her like an unwanted shadow. All the years she had spent with Minato, she did not want to truly believe they're would not be anymore to spend. It wasn't until the day of his funeral, when Kushina was finally strong enough to accept her husband was truly gone from the world. She stood among her fellow villagers as the proceedings took place; her baby snuggled away in a black blanket. She pressed him close to her chest, as she filed in the line, all waiting to place their flower among the others on a high table.

Speeches had been made previously, men and women drawn the them like fireflies to the the light with their flow of elegant, wonderful words. All of them stating, not just of Minato's sacrifice, but of the other villagers who had been killed in the attack as well. Kushina had not truly paid attention, all her energy focused on just one thing. Saying her last goodbyes to Minato.

When Kushina had made it to the top of the line, and the people behind allowed for her to stay much longer then necessary. She gazed longingly into the photograph of her husband, which stood in the center of several other surrounding pictures, and then at the casket beyond. She bit her lip trying to suppress her tears that she had hidden for so long.

The drive, the longing, the want to see him once more. How she wanted to feel his lips on hers…the warmth of his skin…How she wanted all of this but was so far away in achieving it. She and Minato, it seemed, were in two separate worlds, so close and yet so far.

The yearning for him that was long over due was mused by Naruto beginning to cry. Kushina quickly placed the flower on the table as a second thought, clutching her son closer to her as she went back to the sea of black clothing. And as she looked down into her son's face, she thought fleeting of Minato's. Her tears continued to fall and she looked as if she had been stabbed with a kinfe, but a tiny part of her heart was filling with joy.

She knew what she was suppose to do. Raise Naruto with all the tender love and affection he would have received had he been part of a whole family. To be his shield, protector, nurturer, provider…everything to make him healthy and happy. She kissed Naruto's forehead, a sense of dutiful purpose swimming in the back of her mind.

Yet, despite such a sentiment, in the coming years she could continue to ask herself, _"Where is my Minato?" _

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Author's notes: 

**One cookie for you!**

My first attempt at something that was not poetry. I hope that you liked it and all that jazz…maybe you should review: D Feedback is always great!

This is dedication to my sister, who asked me write her story about a couple for her birthday (those I highly doubt she meant in this kind of content). So happy birthday sissy!

This story is based off the revelations of chapter 367(when we found out who Naruto's mama and papa were...) and I tried to keep true what information I was given about Kushina's and Minato's personalities…so I hoped I did a good job with that. And yes, I aware of how Kushina had a tomboy demeanor and I tried my best to fit it in there along with the seriousness of the rest of the story. And as an added note, I have no idea what Kushina's true fate was but she is very much alive in this version...so...yeah...thought I just get that out...

So, I think I explained everything I wanted too. For now, this is a one-shot…but I do have some vague plans on making this a whole story if I get the inspiration. It would be about Kushina being alive and raising Naruto but...I dunno really where I would go with it. O.o...Ideas people, please?

Thanks for reading: D...And if I had any...ANY...mistakes, forgive me and tell me so that I can fix it...

Pin Needle


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